1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dishwashing apparatus and, more particularly, to structure for controlling the release of an additive, such as a wetting agent and liquid or powdered detergent, into a wash chamber at a predetermined stage in an operating cycle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In prior art dishwashers, it is known to provide a reservoir for an additive and a cover for the reservoir that is movable to selectively confine the additive in the reservoir in a closed cover position and release the additive into the wash chamber in an open cover position. A timer mechanism operates through a linkage to open the cover at a predetermined stage in an operating cycle.
One of the principal drawbacks with the prior art structures has been that if operation is interrupted in mid-cycle, after the cover has opened during a wash cycle, the cover cannot be reclosed without resetting the timer mechanism. If at that stage the reservoir is refilled and the cover closed, resetting of the timer mechanism will cause the cover to open before the timer mechanism is returned to the cycle start position. The undesirable result is that the additive will be dumped into the wash chamber before the operating cycle is initiated. Alternatively, the user can open the door, manually refill the reservoir and reclose the reservoir cover after resetting the timer mechanism, which is clearly inconvenient.